Ever since the end of the London Games there have been rumors that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) might attempt to add 3-on-3 to the Olympics schedule as early as 2016.
But even as we dreamed of watching Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook team up on the courts in Rio, we never really knew whether or not to take the idea seriously. Apparently now is the time.
FIBA officials reflected on the first full year of the “3x3” world tour and world championships during a meeting over the weekend and deemed the new basketball discipline a massive success.
The FIBA board now plans to request that the IOC add 3x3 to the Rio Games as a second basketball discipline. They also plan to request adding four teams and a second venue to the standard five-on-five discipline in order to make the tournament more competitive and more international, but also shorter to alleviate the pressure on players.
No word yet on whether or not they’ll add the dunk and three-point competitions that we’ve suggested in the past, but this is at least a step in the right direction. Only 1361 days until Rio.
